Floating Leaf Tour Organizer

Handbook Experience True Bali

When you become a Tour Organizer with Floating Leaf, you’ll receive everything you need to build and promote the perfect tour.

 

 

The Exper ience of a L i fet ime  At Floating Leaf, we’re specialists in crafting memorable Bali excursions. We’ve been guiding folks like you across this remarkable island for years. We know what makes a trip to Bali an experience of a lifetime and we also know what pitfalls to avoid. You want your group to remember this trip as the most rewarding, enjoyable experience they’ve ever had, and we can help you organize your itinerary. Here’s how we can help:

Let ’s Beg in by Craft ing the Perfect Tour for Your Group  Name your tour. Let’s choose a name that describes your tour theme and gets people excited. Plan your activities. There is too much for most people to do and see in a dozen vacations so let us suggest activities based on the theme of your trip. For example, we’ll schedule private sessions with the gifted healers, yoga instructors, artists, and visits to mind expanding diving locations, Balinese ceremonies, uncrowded surfing and much more – it all depends on the preference of your group. Choose the type of meals you’d like us to prepare. We are all about health and wellness so all meals will be healthy and delicious, but you can also choose, vegetarian, vegan, raw, local cuisine or a multitude of international options. You can even help pick your own fruits,

vegetables and herbs from our organic permaculture garden. You will have a private chef on hand to prepare special meals to suit your palate and your well-being. Plan the length of your tour. Generally stays will be 5-12 days and we will work with you to find the sweet spot for your group. We’ll even suggest and help you plan pre and post excursion destinations such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Borneo, Komodo and endless other adventures. What time of year would you like to come to Bali? We can suggest dates during the dry season, best surfing window or during rituals and holidays. There are dates your group may want to avoid. We’ll consult with you on the ideal time for your vacation to Bali. What price range is ideal for your group participants? Clearly, how long you stay and what you see will be determined in part by cost. We’ll work with you to make the most of your budget.  

Promot ing Your Tr ip  We have flyer and post card designs. We’ll design a custom flyer and post card that will help create a buzz around the office, among friends or within a class. We can even suggest printers and distributors if you need help getting the word out. We’ll give you your own private web page for your tour so potential participants have a place to go to get more information as well as updates on the trip. We’ll create press releases for you and get them distributed across the web. We are experienced in search engine optimization and online promotion, so we know how to get the word out. We’ll provide you with images, content and promotional material to include on your own website if you have one. This includes jpeg files, web banners and e-flyers for posting and distributing online. You are also welcome to use images from Balifornian.com and BaliFloatingLeaf.com for promoting your custom tour with us.

We’ll help you promote your tour in social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Pinterest and many more. If you’re stuck on verbiage, we’ll help you craft content that gets people excited about your trip. It’s all about creating a buzz and there are plenty of tools and resources online to help you do that as well.

Finally, we’ll provide you with links to videos on You Tube and Vimeo that promote Bali, Floating Leaf and the kind of tours in which your people are interested. For those that are nervous about traveling to a foreign country, we’ll help provide you with material that will put them at ease. Indonesia is a wonderful country with incredibly friendly people.

 

Have quest ions? Here are some answers :  

What is a “Tour Organizer”?

“Tour Organizer” is the title we give to individuals who are interested in gathering a small group to come to Bali.

What are the Tour Organizer’s responsibilities?

Aside from helping to gather a group, your part is as little or as much as you like. If you are a teacher or instructor, you may want to have teaching sessions, workshops, etc. We are happy to work with you directly to craft a custom tour with activities that suit your specific group. These activities can be at Floating Leaf’s yoga center, classroom, kitchen, pool, permaculture garden, etc. They can also be off-site any where in Bali such as temples, ceremonies, beaches, sites of specific interest, restaurants, sessions with healers, artists or other teachers, snorkeling, shopping, or any other location that may enhance the experience.

Some Tour Organizers choose not to even come on the tour. They just have an idea for a great tour, find participants and earn money just from doing that.

Most Tour Organizers want to come and enjoy Bali and if you do you are free to participate as much or as little as you like. You can share your thoughts and ideas as much as you like with the group, provide assistance to participants, or just be a participant yourself.

Floating Leaf does all the heavy lifting. We handle all the logistics, reservations, and transportation while you are in Bali.

How many people do I need?

Only 8-10. We prefer to keep tours under 10 people including the Tour Organizer. We have six villas available and it is generally double occupancy, but it is possible to have an extra bed in the rooms. We find its best that Maryam and Michael occupy one of the villas so we are always on-site.

As an example, there are six total villas, one is occupied by Maryam and Michael and one is for you, the tour organizer. As Tour Organizer you may choose to sell the other half of the room if you like. That leaves the other four villas for the remainder of the group. If the tour requires larger numbers, the principals can stay at Floating Leaf and we can arrange for any number of rooms at another location.

Am I responsible for finding all of the participants?

It’s up to you. You only need 8-10 people so most people have a network of friends, family, students, clients and such in which they can draw from.

Furthermore, we are happy to use our vast resources to assist you in marketing your tour. We can market your tour to our social media contacts, include it in newsletters, and help publicize it through various channels. We can include an additional pricing structure/commission for participants you find and those that we provide, but you will always have the first chance to find your own participants.

How does pricing work?

We work together to find just the right activities for the tour, the number of days, meals, etc. and based on that, we provide you with our rock bottom price per participant. You can then set the retail price for whatever you like and keep the profit, or you can offer that base price to your participants.

Our prices tend to be substantially less that other similar tours with high-end accommodations, private chef, English speaking guides, deluxe transportations, and all the other amenities Floating Leaf offers. Similar tours where you cannot handpick each day’s activities can sell for twice our price.

What is generally included and what is not included?

Accommodations~ All accommodations during the tour, regardless if they are at Floating Leaf or elsewhere, are included in the price. There may be times when we travel across the island and stay in accommodations at a particular destination. Those rooms are included, too. We’ll arrange it all for you.

Meals~ All meals at Floating Leaf will be included and we can also include meals at local restaurants as well. Some drinks and snacks from our café are included, but additional meals, snacks and drinks will be available 24 hours a day at reasonable prices.

For example, breakfast is almost always included. If we are on site, lunch and dinner can be included as well. If we are touring and off-site, we can provide boxed lunches, cover the meal at a restaurant, or allow the participants to choose their own restaurant based on their preference of cuisine, expense, etc. It’s all up to you and we can price it out accordingly.

Transportation~ We generally do not include airfare but we can provide assistance and suggestions. We do have a travel agent that can handle including airfare at good prices but it becomes tricky with multiple cities, times of departures, various airlines etc. Nevertheless, we have done it before and it has worked out well.

We pick each participant up from the airport and cover all transportation from that time until we drop them back off at the airport at the end of the tour. We travel in deluxe air-conditioned safe vehicles and our driver is the absolute best.

If boats, bicycles or any other mode of transport is required, we will cover that cost as well.

If there is a pre or post destination offered such as Papua, Sumbawa or anywhere else in Asia (Thailand, Singapore, etc.) we can work together on transportation and flights so we can all travel together.

Activities~ All costs for activities are covered including transportation, entrance fees, performances, additional guide fees (if needed), payment to healers, and any additional instructors (for classes such as cooking, healing arts, organics, painting, dance, batik, etc.) Some exceptions may include donations to healers, optional activities (for example, perhaps only a few participants may want to scuba dive), spa treatments, shopping, nightlife activities, etc.). Logistics~ Floating Leaf handles all the planning, reservations, sessions, appointments, transportation while in Bali (as well as any pre or post excursions).

How much lead time do I need? It depends on your tour and the participants, but chances are that if you are traveling with good friends or family, you won’t need to do much marketing. If so, you may only need a month or so. Most tours can be

customized and have all materials ready for marketing in a week. It’s really just a matter of how long you need to gather your group. Generally setting a date a few months off allows participants to clear their schedule and plan for the trip.

Why is the location of Floating Leaf Eco-Resort so special? Are you traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles to Bali to sit in traffic, breathe polluted air and be surrounded by hordes of tourists? Areas such as Kuta, Seminyak and even Ubud have sadly become so choked with traffic, American fast food chains, and so many Westerners, there is little original Balinese culture left. This is exactly why we chose to create Floating Leaf in a small traditional village amongst verdant rice fields. We work closely with the local community and subsidize farmers to help them grow organic, nutrient-rich crops free from pesticides. We offer classes in English, permaculture, arts and yoga at no charge to the warm and friendly people of our village and all Balinese. It is important to us to be a contributing member to our banjar (local community) and Bali as a whole. Without trying to sound too corny, this magical island has been so good to us; we want to give back where we can. We enjoy living in Ketewel, as it is a peaceful oasis free from the noise and air pollution found in much of South Bali. We want our guests to be able to fully relax and focus on the moment, whether that is a deep yoga practice, a serene spa treatment or just relaxing at the pool. It is important to note that we are not way out in the middle of nowhere either. Just a 10-minute drive and you are in the heart of Sanur, our favorite town. Sanur features a lively nightlife, tons of shops and some of the best restaurants in all of Bali. The Balinese food is amazing from the famous crispy duck at Warung Pregina to a $1 outstanding meal at Warung Jawa. Sanur also has fantastic international food, including Japanese delights at Riyoshi (best sushi on the island) to Italian. In fact, I used to live in Italy and the best Italian food I have had outside of Italy is from The Village Restaurant in Sanur. And the best part of Sanur is you get all the comforts, nightlife, shopping, etc. that you would find in other heavily touristed areas but not the traffic and hassles. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, Sanur has one of the nicer white sand

beaches in Bali (but we have even better secluded secret beaches that you will have to come with us to see for yourself).

Can I run the tour more than once?

Absolutely! Many of the tours will run annually, so once you have all the parts in place to easily run it again if you like. In fact, we have one tour that will run four times a year.

How long does it take for me to work with Floating Leaf to create a custom tour for my group?

It can take as little as an hour or two for us to discuss your goals and ideas and then we can provide you with a draft in just a few days. We provide an extensive list of activities, ideas and choices, so you can review those and let us know what appeals to you and what does not. We then can then make a revision or two and you are all set.

How do my participants sign up?

We can handle all of that through our website. We will give you your own page on our site and people can simply sign up there. Generally a deposit of about 25% of the total cost will be required to hold a spot. The deposit should bear a reasonable relation to the total estimated tour cost. In any case, the deposit amount should not be set too low, as this may result in some members signing up without serious intent and later dropping out.

I have never organized or promoted something like this before. What should I say in my PR material?

You know your topic and angle best so be creative but genuine. Describe your vision and why people would want to participate. Use the information on our websites about Bali; it’s profound culture and lush landscapes to help you explain why Bali is the ultimate destination for your experience.

We will provide you with additional tips, ideas, templates, checklists, etc. to help you craft your message and the look/feel of your materials.

Describe Floating Leaf Eco-Resort and why it is the perfect venue for your group. www.BaliFloatingLeaf.com Share information about who is assisting you with the tour. http://www.balifornian.com/about-us/ and http://www.balifornian.com/why-balifornian/

Read over both of our websites and use what will appeal to your prospective audience. http://www.balifornian.com and www.BaliFloatingLeaf.com

What about graphics, logos, photos?

You are free to use images, photographs, graphics and logos from either of our websites as long as it is for the promotion of your trip with Floating Leaf. Use of our logos, content, materials, images, graphics and photographs is all rights reserved and strictly prohibited for use

other than to promote your own custom tour with Floating Leaf Eco-Resort. For more information regarding the use of Floating Leaf’s material, please see the Terms and Conditions page on our website.

If you have any additional questions or need any help, just let us know.  

   

Thank you from a l l of us at

F loat ing Leaf Eco-Resort .

We look forward to see ing you

and your group soon !  For additional information or to reserve your spot now, please contact

Michael Doliveck ~ m@BaliFloatingLeaf.com ~ Skype- MikakuD